First World War on the Macedonian Front: Remembrance through the cultural heritage. An initiative by ALDA International Summer School

We would
like to give evidence to this initiative by ALDA International Summer School
about World War One and the Macedonian front. ALDA organizes its first International Summer School on the topic of “Remembrance through the cultural heritage of the First World War on the Macedonian Front”. This experience provides a unique opportunity to visit and research untouched cultural heritage from the First World War in the Republic of Macedonia. This summer school will take place in Bitola (R. Macedonia) from 25 to the 30 June 2016. More information is available in this brochure. The summer school is open to students of history, archeology, ethnology or other related fields, civil society representatives or activists on remembrance questions, history enthusiasts (age: 18 to 30). The deadline for application is 25 May 2016.

The Macedonian
Front is also known as “the forgotten Front”, it is true that History
celebrates the triumphs and losses of the Western Front, while the Macedonian
Front also known as the Salonika Front, Front d’Orient or the Southern Front
has been disregarded. Nonetheless, all the belligerent armies were stationed
and battled at one point thousands of soldiers perished on the Macedonian
Front, often because of the terrible conditions due to sicknesses and famine.
Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia (which encompasses the current territory of the
Republic of Macedonia) and Albania were at the heart of the Macedonian Front.
The losses on the Macedonian Front of the First World War were heavily
neglected throughout history, even though, nearly one million soldiers of ten
different armies fought and died there between autumn 1915 and September 1918.
The Commemoration of Centenary of the First World War is an opportunity to
remember and contextualize this forgotten Front.

The remains from
the First World War in the Republic of Macedonia is an invaluable terrain for
research in social, military and cultural history, ethnology and archeology.
This school is an opportunity for pioneer work on the subject of First World
War in the Republic of Macedonia for it has been scarcely researched as is the
case for the whole history of the Macedonian Front. The battle of Monastir (now
Bitola) is one of the crucial battles where the Allied forces won. As a result
of that battle the city was almost completely destroyed. One hundred years
later the cultural heritage of that period (cemeteries, war constructions,
trenches) is a silent witness of the struggles and victories of soldiers and
locals.

In September 1918, the Allied troops led by French General Franchet
d’Esperey overthrew the enemy forces and conquered the current territory of the
Republic of Macedonia. Indeed, the great battle that took place near Bitola
(formerly Monastir) is considered as a crucial event which led to the eventual
defeat of the Central Powers. The current territory of the Republic of
Macedonia was the battle scene between the Austro-Hungarian armies, German,
Bulgarian and Turkish, on the one hand and the French armies, English, Greek,
and Serbian on the other. Thus, the current territory of the Republic of
Macedonia was one of the most affected territories in the action of the
Macedonian Front. The cities: Bitola, Dojran, Gevgelija, Kukush, Ohrid, Prilep,
Krushevo were almost completely destroyed during the War. In Novaci, the
trenches and remains of the Allied as well as the Central Powers front’s
positions are still visible and can be visited on the field.

ACROSS THE RIVER

Dear Visitor,

welcome to World War I Bridges, the Italy-based radar of First World War legacy and initiatives in the pipeline for the Centenary. Our interests are in the "units" here below and military equipment is not on the top of our minds. You can surf this site also starting from these "units".

Why Bridges? The armies used to explode the bridges in war operations. We now try to build new bridges during the WWI Centenary from Maserada sul Piave, a small Italian village along the Piave River.

Terms and conditions

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at anytime and without notice.As for our suggested itineraries, though every possible effort to provide accurate information on this site, you are solely responsible for interpreting and using this information to organize your trip and excursion and to evaluate all potential hazards according to your own capacities and risks inherent to the different natural environments.

World War I in Maserada sul Piave

Maserada sul Piave is a small town in the North-East of Italy (Venice area), located in the middle course of the river Piave. After the notorious rout of Caporetto (October 1917), the river Piave became the Italian extreme defensive front. This location and the river Piave are particularly interesting in the scenario of the three main battles of the last year of the Great War: the First Piave Battle (November 1917), the Battle of the Solstice (known as Battle of Middle June 1918) and the final Battle of Vittorio Veneto, that led to the Armistice between Italy and Central Powers. In this locations, the British and the Italian armies faced together the Austro-Hungarians. The British Army was stationed here and that's why our village is an example of a location shared by two national armies cooperating in war operations. The museum located in the village is aiming to become a reference point in Italy for the history of a foreign contingent, namely what we know as the British Campaign in Italy 1917-1918. Since 2008 it has been building local and international partnerships in order also to create events and organize battlefield tours in this area.

Can you build a WWI Bridge with us?

If you're a Great War enthusiast; if you think of having something interesting to point out; if you think that the memory of the Great War should grow around a network of people constantly sharing views on this; if you think that war was not and is not only a matter of weapons; if you stop a second when you read the words "First" and "World"; if you sometimes think that the Great War centenary is getting closer; if you quiver every time you watch Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory; if you strongly believe that the real challange is to find new strategies to tell the story of this war to the digital natives. Briefly, if you discover yourself twanging like a chord every time you get close to this topic and if you wish to throw new bridges around First World War knowledge, we would be more than happy to listen to your suggestions, comments and opinions.

Please take a look also to the web site of the friends of the Maserada World War I Museum and write your emails to this address. You may also follow us on Twitter.Thank you for connecting though WWI Bridges!